An electronic surveillance system is designed to protect your home and property against intruders. Many homeowners hire a security company to install such a system, but if you're considering adding one there are some designed for a do-it-yourselfer to install.

The components of a system include a 7-inch LCD display screen with a built-in video receiver/recorder and wireless digital cameras. The 2-gigabyte memory card included with the system will record hours of video, much more if the unit is in the motion detection mode. The system can be expanded to up to four cameras. Most of these types of surveillance systems record video on either a hard drive or flash memory.

For a house with two entry doors, an electronics installer will charge $520 to install the screen with video receiver/recorder and two cameras. You can buy the components for $375, the security camera installation cost and do the job, saving 28 percent.

These inexpensive systems are stand-alone units and not connected to a monitoring system that would alert you to possible trouble.

You'll find more information from Consumer Affairs at Home Alarm Guide.This guide educates readers on important aspects to consider when selecting a home alarm or security system. It answers common questions about how to choose your system, types of security systems and relevant safety statistics. It also breaks down the pros and cons of the major home alarm brands with verified reviews.

Wrapping up, given the average cost to install a security camera you can compare the price of a contractor’s bid with doing it yourself. For a local cost input your ZIP Code.

The cost and time data is generated by averaging labor and material data from annually updated cost books used by contractors and refined by the authors'
experience remodeling 13 houses. They are authors of 20 home improvement books and Do It Yourself or Not, a weekly column syndicated by Tribune Content
Agency. The national cost can be adjusted by ZIP Code.